Hispanic Teens Teach Adults, Each Other Inspirational Lesson

For middle-class, white folks, the Inland Northwest seems like a giant mirror reflecting the same skin, the same culture and the same values. Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to work with some wonderful young people and, through many of their faces, catch a glimpse of another rich world. One experience especially deserves sharing.

Who can imagine teens surrounded by drugs and gangs and violence finding the strength and inspiration to rise above and find a way out?

Impossible, I thought. Until I met the youth from Seattle’s El Centro de la Raza. Under some wonderful adult tutelage, these inner-city kids are taking the initiative to form leadership workshops using poetry and support for their peers.

I would have thought this nice-sounding idea was just that - not based in reality - until I saw them here in action in Spokane recently. Imagine a 15-year-old who spends most of her life on the street standing up at the East Central Community Center reading the line from Lucille Clifton’s poem - “i had no model. born in babylon both nonwhite and woman” - for the first time in front of a group of peer critics. Imagine seven teenagers, all with tan skin, some not fluent in English, holding a group of adults spellbound at Auntie’s bookstore while they read selections from their published book of poems.

The youth that sponsor such workshops are very open about the changes that their lives have seen. Many could never have imagined being perceived as leaders even a year ago.

This group of teens and the success they have made of their short lives teach inspiration beyond their poetry readings. For one, that leadership means taking responsibility.

In a time when we see more violence in our society and feel less empowered to do something about it, these resilient teenagers teach a powerful lesson.

Annamarie Valdivia, 17, who will be going to San Diego to attend her first year at university, expressed her view of involvement when she said, “You can’t change the world by staying at home.”

I know that for one adult at least, the world is a new and different place after meeting the youth from El Centro. I can only imagine how many lives they will continue to inspire on their journey.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.